Tank car



Jan. 1927" s. F. BEASLEY TANK A Filed May 5. 1924 f en (for Patented Jan. 25 1927.

UNITED STATES STARLEY F. BEASLEY, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS.

TANK CAR.

Application filed May 5,

This invention relates to heaters for tank cars, and has for its principal object to prevent destructive strains due to unequal expansion and contraction, and to provlde a simple construction that can be cheaply made from commercial pipe or tubing.

Further objects and advantages of the 1nvention will become more apparent as the disclosure proceeds and the description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating a selected embodiment of the invention, and in which- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a tank car equipped with a heater made according to this invention, the intermediate portion o1 the tank car being broken away to save space;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the header taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, with the intermediate portion of the header broken away; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail showing the support for the supply pipes within the ra-' diator pipes.

Referring to the drawings, 10 and 11 indicate the ends of the tank, the body of which is formed by the cylindrical wall 12 that is surmounted adjacent to the middle by a dome 13 and equipped at the bottom also adjacent to the middle with a discharge tube 14.

The heater includes a supply pipe 15 delivering into a header generally indicated by 16 which in turn delivers the heatingmedium to the remote end of radiator pipes 17 and also collects the condensation from the radiator pipes and passes it oil. through the discharge pipe 18.

When commercial tubing is used in the construction of the heater the inner or supply chamber 19 of the header 16 is formed by an inner or supply tube 20 which may be made by cutting the required length of commercial tubing, bending it to the desired shape and fitting one end with a plug or closure 21. Along one side the tube is perforated at suitable intervals, and bosses 22 are secured thereto about the perforations, as, for example, by welding. The outer or collecting chamber 23 may be formed by an outer tube 24 also made by selecting a suitable length of commercial tubing, bending it to shape and fitting it with the heads or end pieces 25 and 26 which, as shown, may have flanges 27 threaded into the ends of the tube. The corresponding side portion of 1924. Serial in. 711,260.

this tube is also perforated at corresponding intervals and fitted with similar though lalrger bosses 28 that may also be welded into p ace.

The bosses 22 serve to connect the supply chamber 19 with supply pipes 29 leading from the supply chamber to the remote end portions of the radiator pipes 17. These supply pipes are loosely supported in the radiator pipes by spacers 30 (Fig. 4) which may be used in any required number. The bosses 28 serve to connect. the outer chamber 23 with the radiator pipes 17.

The radiator pipes 17 are supported in any convenient manner in the selected relationship as by brackets 32 carried by the wall 12 of the tank.

The outer tube 24 is also perforated at. the opposite side and fitted with a boss 31 which serves to connect the outer chamber with the discharge pipe 18.

The head 26 of the outer chamber of the header is provided with a boss 33 and bored out to admit the inner tube 20. On the outer side the boss is equipped with packing and an adjustable gland 34 to make a tight seal.

The head 25 is provided on'its inner side with an annular flange 35 that receives the closed end of the inner tube with a clearance radially and the end of the tube at normal temperatures is spaced from the head as indicated at 36.

When the outer tube 24 is made of 6" tubing and the inner tube of 3 tubing the radial clearance between the inner tube and the flange 35 should be about 1/64. The spacing indicated at 36 will vary with the length of the header.

In operation, steam is fed through the pipe15 into the supply tube 20, from which it passes through the feed pipes 29 to the remote ends of the radiator pipes 17, where it expands into contact with the walls, which in turn are in contact with the lading. The steam mixed with water of condensation travels back along the radiator pipes, and the water collects in the chamber 23 from which it escapes through the discharge pipe 18. lVhen the lading in the car is very cold the supply tube 20 reaches a relatively high temperature, while the collecting tube 24 is still very close'to the temperature of the lading. This results in a large differential of expansion between the two tubes.

Headers heretofore constructed, so far as I am aware, have made no provision for relative movement to accommodate this expansion, and breakage of the headers has been comparatively frequent especially in Winter. The construction above described permits free movement in expanding and contracting and relieves the header of all strains calculated to do damage to any part of the construction.

Most of the headers now in use are made by casting and the presence of a plurality of chambers with other necessary details makes the manufacturing cost high. Headers made according to this invention are easily assembled from parts that consist chiefly in suitable lengths of different size commercial tubing, and therefore may be produced at a considerable saving.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a header for tank car heaters, the combination of a collecting tube, end pieces closing said tube, radiators connected with said tube, a supply tube Within the collecting tube and extending through one end piece, a flange on the other end piece loosely receiving the corresponding end of the supply tube, and pipes connecting the supply tube with remote portions of the radiator.

2. In a header for tank car heaters, "the combination of a collecting tube closed at each end, a supply tube extending through one end of the collecting tube and having a closed end adjacent the opposite end thereof, and means carried by the collecting tube for loosely supporting the closed end of the supply tube.

STARLEY F. BEASLEY. 

